


Blood and Sand

by EyesOfHorus82



Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Blood and Injury, Blood and Torture, Blood and Violence, Broken Bones, Crash Landing, Depression, Din Djarin Whump, Drugs, Father-Son Relationship, Hurt Din Djarin, Injury, Major Character Injury, Medical Procedures, Near Death, Near Death Experiences, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Surgery, Torture, Violence, Whump, torturefic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-16 15:21:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28958613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EyesOfHorus82/pseuds/EyesOfHorus82
Summary: After Grogu was taken by the Jedi, Din leaves the Cruiser head over heels in a Tie Fighter. But after an attack of the New Republic, he crashes down on Tatooine. Badly hurt, he gets captured by some brutal mercs, which are torturing him for information about the child. Summary will be updated.
Comments: 27
Kudos: 95





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've been writing on this fic for some time now and I was not even sure if I should post it. But anyway, here it is. 😅

Blood and Sand

When the doors of the elevator closed, Din felt something dropping in his stomach. He still couldn’t believe it. He heard nothing else but the pounding of his heart in his ears, everything felt so distant. His glance fell on the floor, on his helmet to be precisely. For a moment, the mandalorian thought it was melting into the metal floor, he didn’t dare to pick it up. His legs started moving, almost by themselves, to the chair to his left, where Grogu was sitting before he had picked him up to reach him to the Jedi. 

When he made the first step, his knees felt wobbly, so he tried to make one careful step after another. Suddenly, he noticed the others started to move around him again, but no one spoke. Din slammed down on the chair and buried his face in his palms, he just wanted to hide. First, when he noticed Cara was standing beside him, holding his helmet and placing it on the panel, he looked up. She didn’t say anything, just putting her hand on his back, rubbing gentle circles between his shoulder blades. 

It felt odd at first, but it anchored him a bit at least. But after a few minutes his current numbness started to subside and all of his emotions seemed to be crashing down on him. Din started to hyperventilate, but he tried to hide it. He just wanted to get out of here. Cara startled when he got up quickly. For a second, he looked straight into her eyes and hoped she would understand that he needed to leave. A quick nod of her confirmed it. “Go….. take the time you need..” the Marshal whispered and pulled him in a close hug. 

When she released him, he grabbed his helmet and put it back on. “Hey, where are you going?” Bo-Katan asked bewildered. The female mandalorian still had some business to discuss, regarding the Darksaber. But there was nothing, what bothered him less than this stupid cylinder of metal, which was attatched to his belt, now. Without any word, he headed towards the elevator and fortunately, the doors opened quickly, so he wouldn’t be tangled in any further conversation. Actually, Din had no idea how to leave this cruiser, he just went down to the hangar section. 

The mandalorians steps echoed in the huge hall, he looked around. But then he turned to one of the parking Tie Fighters. He didn’t think at that moment, his brain felt like it was turned on stand by. Din just wanted to get off this ship, no matter what. He just wanted to enter the deep space, leaving all of this behind. The pain in his heart increased with every moment he hesitated. It took a few seconds for him to figure out how to enter the Tie Fighter, but when he was inside it, his eyes were glued to the console. 

A few buttons powered the engines up and he gradually made his way out of the hangar. Although he had never flown this kind of ship, it was surprisingly easy to handle. His mind became clear for a second and now that he was alone, he allowed himself to cry. Quickly, he pulled his helmet off and wiped his wet eyes. Now he slowly realized that he had lost everything. Sobbing he propped his elbows on the panel and buried his face in his palms. 

Din had no idea how long he was traveling through space now, nor he had any clue where he was. But suddenly, he heard one of the alarm systems blaring at him. “Damn it.” Djarin cursed as he realized, two X-Wings were following him. “X-Wings again? How ironic.” he chuckled and tried to contact them, but without any warning, they started the open fire. Quickly he put his helmet back on but more alarms went off and he struggled to figure out how to shoot back with this thing. But suddenly a certain image popped in his mind. Grogu was on a X-Wing right now. What if…. no one knew….he thought, but his distraction almost cost him losing control over the Tie Fighter. 

The mandalorian tried to keep his composure and looked for the closest planet to land and to hide. It turned out he was close to Tatooine, he knew, he could hide somewhere in the canyons there. Trying to avoid the shots from the X-Wings he entered the atmosphere. The wide sea of dunes laid below him. But suddenly, he felt a shot hit his ship and the controls stopped working. “Dank Farrik” Din cursed and panic swept over him. The ground was getting closer and he tried to figure out how to get control over the Tie Fighter again. 

But it was in vain, the ship was damaged too much. Din closed his eyes when he crashed on the hot sands of Tatooine. He heard the X-Wings making a turn and ascending into the orbit again, but then everything went black. The suns had already set when Din regained consciousness again. The smell of burnt plastic and metal stung in his nose. But when his brain finally went online again, pain was crashing down on him. Letting out a loud moan, he tried to figure out what had happened to him. Gradually he remembered he had crashed in the middle of Tatooine’s dunes, far from civilization and probably badly injured.

The mandalorian was lying on his back, outside, in front of the Tie Fighters broken windshield. His head was pounding and his torso felt like it was filled with shards everytime he took a shaky breath. Slowly, he put his hands on his chest, carefully feeling for injuries. But it looked like the beskar had protected him from any more serious damage there. His hands moved more down and when he touched his stomach, Din yelled in pain and curled to his side. There was something on his belly, that didn’t belong there. 

He looked at his trembling fingers and they were coated in blood. Carefully, he dared to look down on his body. Din gasped when he realized that a piece of scrap metal was protruding from his stomach. Hot pain cursed through his body as he tried to pull it out, but he slipped with his gloves. Tearing off his glove, he tried again and with a loud groan he managed to pull it out with a spray of blood. 

Din’s vision got blurred again as he rolled back on his back. He was panting as he looked into Tatooine’s night sky. “What am I supposed to do now?” he desperately thought to himself. Slowly acknowledging his chances weren’t great, he tried to push himself up. Failing miserably, he crawled towards the wreckage, leaving a trail of blood in the sand. His mind became foggy but he tried to climb inside the destroyed cockpit to at least have a shelter for the night. The pain was consuming him more and more, gradually he wished just to close his eyes and die. He leaned back on the burnt metal and gasped for air. Never before, he was in such a hopeless situation. 

The image of Grogu being carried away popped up in his mind again. What would he do if he had the kid here now? Would he have survived this crash? Or would he desperately be trying to heal him. Considering his condition now, he would have let him do it. Din looked up into the night sky, it had been only a few hours but he missed him so hard already. His hand was firmly pressed on his stomach and he realized he had nothing here to treat his wound. But he realised some of the debris were still burning. He crawled closer to one of the fires and grabbed a piece of metal, holding it into the flames. Meanwhile, he drew his vibro blade and started to cut his undergarments to get access to the wound. 

Now he was able to take a closer look at it. It was a deep cut about 2-3 inches long on the right lower side of his belly and it was deep. Blood was still leaking from it and he had no idea which damage he had sustained internally. But he had no choice, Din grabbed the now glowing hot piece of metal and held it over his wound. With the fingers of his left hand, he squeezed the skin together, ready to seal it. He took a few deep breaths and closed his eyes, preparing for the pain, which would come as soon as he pushed the hot metal against his flesh. And it came. 

His muffled screams ripped the silent night, when hot, glowing metal met his skin. Din tried to seal it as much as he could, but his circulation was failing on him. His hands started to tremble and the scrap metal slipped from his fingers before he was able to finish his work. Black spots started dancing in front of his eyes and his heart pounded so hard, it actually hurt. Tears dripped down on his cheeks, safely hidden behind his helmet. Again, he saw Grogu in front of his inner eye, he was warming up on the fire, before he came closer to his father, curling up to him. Djarin felt peaceful when he watched his son, his little head snuggled on him, when it was time to go to sleep. But reality hit him like a blaster shot. Din noticed, he wasn’t able to think anymore, his vision was getting darker and darker until he passed out and fell on his side.

The first thing, he noticed when he regained consciousness again was the hot dry wind, brushing through his hair. Slowly he cracked his eyes open into narrow slits, noticing he was moving and his helmet was missing. Din’s heart started to pick up pace, when he realized he was not in the Tie Fighter anymore. Someone must have found him. He tried to move, but his arms were tied on his back. Desperately, he looked around, trying to figure out who was with him. 

Din was lying on his side on a coach and someone was sitting on a seat in front of him. The person had wide shoulders and wore a weathered leather coat and a matching hat. “H-Hey….” Din gasped but there was no reaction of his kidnapper. “Who are you?” he asked a little louder and the figure turned it’s face to him. It was covered by a gas mask and Din had to look into black goggles. A low chuckle sounded from underneath the mask as he got up and knelt beside Djarin. 

“We’ve finally got you, Mandalorian.” a deep, raspy voice said and he grabbed Din’s neck. His other hand was pressed painfully on Mando’s wound. He held his breath as the other man’s face came closer. “Tell us, where’s the kid” he demanded and hurt Djarin more and more. “H-He’s no longer with me….” Din gasped and scrunched his eyes in pain. But suddenly, the man lifted him off slightly and slammed him back on the floor. “Liar….” the masked man hissed and searched his pocket for something. Din realized he was a bounty hunter, but certainly no member of the guild. “We’re gonna make you talk as soon as we arrive at our covert. But now, let’s put you to sleep again before you’re gonna do stupid things.” the man chuckled and Din saw he was holding an old, dirty syringe, filled with some brown liquid in his gloved hands. 

Mando gasped, when he felt the pinch of the needle, releasing some questionable contents into his bloodstream. Instantly, he got dizzy and as hard as he tried, to stay conscious, he passed out on the coach again. 

……………………………

When he woke up again, Din found himself lying on a dirty, tiled floor. He was so dizzy and his vision was blurred. Still he felt the effect of the drugs he had gotten administered. Actually he had tried spice before, but this stuff was way stronger. A sudden chill made him realize that he was stripped off his armor, only wearing his pants and boots. His body ached in every part, he tried to move, but he had to acknowledge that he was tied up in chains. Gradually, the mandalorian’s mind became more and more clear. He felt a sting in his heart when he saw the tiles on the floor were stained with blood, so much, it made the impression someone had been slaughtered here before. And the smell kind of confirmed it, a disgusting odor of rotten flesh stung in his nose. His stomach twisted and nausea swept over him so heavily, Din had no strength to swallow the bile in his throat. Leaning to his side, he emptied the contains of his stomach and he sunk down on the tiled wall again. 

Pain started to invade him again and Din groaned loudly when he moved. His bare chest was heaving and covered with a thin layer of sweat, dirt and dried blood. Gasping, he looked down on his body, noticing the wound on his abdomen still was only half cauterized but the skin around it was tinted dark. “Dank Ferrik” he muttered because he knew what that meant, internal bleeding. He felt himself getting dizzy again, his blood pressure was dropping, but his heart throbbed painfully against his ribs. 

“You’re awake?” a sudden voice ripped him from his thoughts. Djarin looked up, looking into the face of his captor. “What do you want from me?” he gasped and tried to get up, but the other man didn’t hesitate and slammed a rusty metal rod into his side. Din’s scream echoed in the abandoned storage hall, where he was kept. “You know what we want, you didn’t answer that question.” the man said and raised his hand again. Din was curled to his side, trying to shield his beaten body from another hit. 

“He is no longer with me, I’m alone” he gasped after he had recovered from the second blast,'More like lonely' he painfully admitted in his thoughts. The pain was pulsing through his body. “Wrong answer….” the man hissed and slammed the rod hard on Din’s chest, leaving a dark bruise. Almost every ounce of air was pushed out of his lungs and Djarin blacked out for a second. “I think it’s time for you to reconsider your attitude or this here is going to be much more painful for you.” the man whispered and left Din with his pain. 

The mandalorian was lying on the floor, almost paralysed by the pain. The chains around his wrist became heavier and heavier. Din sighed, he had no idea how to break free from this misery. But maybe, I was best to die here. He wouldn’t have to live with the loss of Grogu anymore. But still the memory of his child was the only thing what kept him alive right now. ‘I’ll see you again, I promise’ he had told him and he really wanted to keep it. But now, his prospects weren’t great. Djarin felt too weak to even stand and now he was captured somewhere on Tatooine, no one would miss him here or go looking for him. 

And he had no idea, who this guy was, who tortured him. He couldn’t tell him where the child was, because he didn’t know himself. The night fell on Tatooine and Din started shivering, it was so cold in the desert. He still laid on the cold tiles with terrible chills, he felt so weak, so vulnerable. Din closed his eyes for a moment, but when he opened them again, he saw Grogu standing right in front of him. "Is this a dream?“ Din whispered weakly and the kid came closer."Papa, you're hurt…" the kid said and bent over him. "Don't worry kid. You're here, that's all that matters to me now, whether this is a dream or not." Din gasped, trying to touch his son's cheek, he failed. "I'm sorry…. I wanted you to live a happy life, I wanted you to be safe, kid. But in the end, I'm the one, who can't live without you." Din sobbed, unable to hide his tears any longer. 

"Shhh, Papa don't cry. I'm always here…" Grogu whispered and touched Din's chest, right above his heart. The mandalorian closed his eyes, leaning into the touch while it lasted. "You're the best thing that has ever happened to me, I love you so much, kid….." Din cried but when he opened his eyes again, the hallucination was gone. "Stay with me…" He cried and curled to his side. Pain was overwhelming him again but soon, unconsciousness claimed him again. 

The next day was not getting any better, the guy with the gas mask and another masked man spent their day beating him with some metal rods and administering him some questionable liquids, to keep him calm and awake. Din was not able to differentiate what was real and what was a drug induced dream, but the pain was always present. 

The wound on his abdomen got infected and the black spots around it grew bigger. His belly felt hard and hot and considering the wounds of the torture he has sustained, Din had to acknowledge he wouldn’t make it much longer. Fever was also plaguing his body and his brain felt like it was melting inside his skull, while the rest of his body shivered uncontrollable. When night fell, Grogu appeared again. Din assumed his consciousness was giving him a little more time to spend with his kid, before he died.

Even though this wasn’t real, Din felt comfort in his presence. He was lying on his side, when the kid stepped closer. “Papa, don’t give up. Someone’s coming for help.” Grogu pleaded, he sounded desperate. But Din smiled. “It’s alright kid, don’t cry. This is not what I want to see, when I’m dying. I don’t want to see you being sad. Come here…” the mandalorian whispered, picked up the kid and placed him on his chest. “I miss you…..” the kid whispered and snuggled up to him. “I miss you too….” Din replied, gently stroking the kid’s head. Now, he regretted that he had never shown him his face or cuddled the kid earlier. He held him with his right arm and held the kid’s hand with his left hand, the tiny claws instantly curling around one of his fingers. “We should have done this before…. But I was a coward, hiding behind a steel mask, blindly following, what had been told to me almost my entire life without ever questioning it. There have always been more ways…” Din whispered as he rocked his son to sleep. 

But just briefly before he fell asleep himself, Grogu vanished from his arms, leaving an empty void again. Still he felt his presence, like he would still be holding his hand and the warmth of the kids body against his skin. Din wanted to scream, because he knew, he didn’t have much time left.

On the third day, he finally saw a familiar face, which he hoped not to see ever again. “Hello there, little mouse…” Burg chuckled and stepped closer. Djarin didn’t reply. Almost too weak to look up the Devaronian grabbed him by his neck and pulled him up. “You’re gonna pay for what you have done to us. But first, where’s the little brat?” he grunted and pushed Din against the wall. 

The mandalorian didn’t reply, just kept his eyes closed. But suddenly, Burg drove his fist into Djarins stomach, directly on his wound. “Talk!” Burg grunted louder, even more threatening. Din started to hyperventilate, the pain made it almost impossible for him to breathe. “Oh look at the tiny mandalorian, gasping for air like a fish out of the water. You just need to talk and I’m ending this.” the Devaronian said and nodded at his two buddies, who were just standing there watching. They grabbed Din’s arms, pinning him against the wall. 

Burg violently grabbed Din’s flanks, his ribs aching under his grasp. “Now try to breathe, Mando!” he hissed, almost crushing Djarin now. But Din had already accepted his death, he wouldn’t be able to keep his promise he made to Grogu. But suddenly, there were shots outside the hall. “Damn, we need to go!” one of the captures grunted and let go of Din’s arm. “No, I need this information…” Burg hissed back and turned to Din again, who just shook his head. “You still don’t wanna talk?” the Devaronian asked, but didn’t wait for any reply. 

With brutal force, he crushed the ribs of the mandalorian’s lower chest, causing him to lose consciousness immediately. Din’s limp body slipped to the ground and suddenly, someone fired at Burg. He dodged the shots and grabbed his gun, shooting at the two figures at the entrance. The gunfight didn’t last long, the two gunslingers killed the three captors in a matter of minutes. 

“Weequay, look for any prisoners” a guy with grey hair and a red scarf ordered. “Yes, sir.” the other said and searched the hall's rooms. “Damn, what did those guys do here….. Wait!” Cobb Vanth mumbled until he found a body on the floor. “Oh no…” Cobb whispered and ran to him. Din was lying on his stomach, blood was leaking from the corner of his mouth, nose and belly. “Hey, can you hear me?” Vanth said, cautiously lifting Din’s torso and shook him, he noticed his body was still warm. With growing panic, the Marshal pushed two fingers on Mando’s neck, feeling for a pulse. 

After a few desperate seconds, he found it, fast and throbbing. “Who are you?” Vanth asked, looking down on the mandalorian’s injuries. He instantly noticed, his lower chest had some bumps, which weren’t supposed to be there. Carefully, his hand felt over his skin and the Marshal gasped when he felt the broken shards underneath the fingers. “What did they do to you?” 

Suddenly, Weequay returned with a bundle of silver plates in his hand. “Cobb, I found this in the other room". Taking a closer look, the Marshal identified it as mandalorian armor. “It’s him….” the bartender alien stated and pulled a certain silver helmet from underneath the pile of beskar. 

“No….no, no, Mando!” Cobb realized, a knot tied in his stomach and he turned to Din’s pale face again. “Come on, buddy. Wake up!” he said frantically and patted his cheek. “We need to take him back to town!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, this chapter was a little bit of emotinal roller coaster to write. I hope you like it.

The Marshal looked around and fetched an old, torn blanket from a pile in the corner and wrapped it around Din's feverish body. "Quick, we need to go!“ Vanth said and he and Weequay carefully lifted the mandalorian from the ground. Trying to avoid any contact with his injuries, but it turned out very difficult not to harm the mandalorian even more. His body felt so fragile under their hands and Cobb started to panic when more and more blood leaked from the man’s nose and mouth, dripping down his face onto his neck and chest. 

But Din was so out cold, he didn't notice being carried out of his prison."Careful, I think he's got some broken ribs." Cobb mumbled, readjusting his grip on Din's legs. “You think only his ribs are broken, looks more to me, he’s got more broken bones than intact ones” Weequay stated dryly. It took about 10 minutes to carry the injured mandalorian to their rusty speeder. After they had secured him across the backseats in a lying position, Cobb turned to his friend and said "I'm gonna be right back, gonna get the beskar."

Weequay nodded as the Marshal turned away to get Din's stuff. “Wait…. he had this little, green guy with him. Did you see anything from him?” Cobb said and turned around again. His companion shook his head. “No, nothing” he replied and Vanth gave him a quick nod. He jogged back into the hall and looked around cautiously. “Little one? Are you here?” he asked, but his voice only echoed from the walls. Heading to the pile of beskar, his eyes wandered around. “This place is a slaughterhouse…” he mumbled, while he collected all the Beskar and sorted it into a dirty cloth to carry it. Vanth looked back to the alcove, where they had found him. 

The blood splatter on the tiled floor and wall turned his stomach upside down. Cobb didn’t even dare to imagine what they had done to him. But still, there was no sign of the kid around here. But suddenly, a voice ripped him from his thoughts. “Vanth, come quick!” Weequay called him and the Marshal started running. “What is it?” he asked, when he reached the entrance. “He is struggling to breathe and is coughing up blood” the alien explained and both rushed back to the speeder. 

“No, no, no. Mando!” Cobb mumbled frightened and climbed to him on the back seat. “Weequay, let’s go!” he ordered and the other started the speeders engines. Din was still unconscious and bloody foam coated his mouth. “Calm down, Mando. It’s alright, try to take deep breaths.” Vanth said and gently pushed his palm against the mandalorians chest, trying to slow his breathing. His skin felt cold and clammy and Din’s desperate gasps for air made him aware that Mando’s lungs were probably damaged. 

“Mando, you need to calm down. We’re taking you to a healer, you’ll feel better soon. I promise.” Cobb mumbled, still trying to stabilize his friend. Suddenly, Din opened his eyes a bit. “Hey, hey, are you with me? Mando?” the Marshal stammered, gently patting the mandalorians cheek. But there was no recollection in his eyes and they shut shortly after he’d calmed a little. His hands were still balled into fists, and the pain he’s enduring was unimaginable. 

“Hold on, please hold on….” Cobb mumbled, but soon the first houses of Mos Pelgo came into his view. “We need to take him to Taka, she’s the only one, who can help him.” he added and Weequay drove the speeder, right to the towns healer’s house. Fortunately, the lady in question was outside on the porch, helping an old man down the stairs. She was a quite small Togruta with dark orange skin and high montrals with long lekkus, which had some wrinkles due her age. She wore a white coat and brown undergarments. 

The speeder stopped right in front of her house so abruptly, she startled. “Oh Force, Marshal Vanth. Why do you need to scare me like that?” she asked, pushing her hand on her chest. But when she looked into his face, she quickly realized his seriousness. “Taka, we need help. Please, get your droid, we have a critical patient here.” Cobb explained, looking down on Din. 

The Togruta nodded quickly and rushed to her front door. “A 2, I need your help here!” she called into her house and seconds later an A 2-1B Unit stepped through the door. “I’m here, what can I do for you, Master?” it said and looked at Taka, who was waving at it. The Togruta took a first look at the mandalorian and gritted her teeth. “A2, he needs oxygen, stat!” she ordered and the droid pulled out a mask, which was attached to his hip and placed it over Din’s nose and mouth. 

“Who is he? Where did you find him?” Taka asked Vanth as she felt Mando’s pulse. “He’s a friend, he helped to kill the Krayt Dragon before you moved here. We found him in an abandoned storage hall not far from here, we killed the mercs, which had tortured him.” he explained but her expression hardened. “We need to get him inside, quick!” she ordered and together, they carried Din into the infirmary, placing him on a surgical table. 

At a remarkable speed, Taka performed first aid, to stabilize the mandalorian for examination. “A2, run a scan” she ordered and placed her stethoscope on Din’s pale skin. After the droid was finished, the healer got the bitter results and sighed. “Prepare for emergency surgery, I’m gonna be right back.” she said and left the operating room to inform Vanth and Weequay. The marshal and his friend had been waiting on chairs, his head propped on his hands. But when the door opened, both were on their feet in a split second. “What’s wrong with him?” he asked nervously, but her diagnosis was like a punch in the gut. 

“To be honest, a clean shot between the eyes would be more merciful. I’m trying my best, but I can’t tell if he’s gonna make it. Most of his ribs are broken, his lungs are perforated by the shards and collapsed. His BP is at 70/40 with a tachycardia over 140. He has several internal bleedings in his abdominal cavity, broken diaphragma and an infected open gash on his belly. His temperature is at 104 and rising and I can’t rule out that he’s been drugged yet. I’m still running the blood tests and then he’s going into surgery.” The healer explained and the color left Cobb's face. He swallowed thickly before he spoke again.

“But he has a chance, hasn’t he?” Cobb asked, but it sounded more like a plea. “I can’t tell…. I need to go back now” the healer said and turned on her heel back to the operating room. Vanth felt his stomach twisting, it felt like he had already lost a good friend. Weequay put his hand on his shoulder. “I’m going back to the bar. You can join me if you want” he said and left, but the Marshal took his seat on the chair again, preparing to wait for hours. 

Back in the operating room, A2 started to administer the anesthesia through Din’s IV port. The oxygen mask had been replaced by intubation gear and he had been prepped for the surgery. “How are his vitals? Is he ready?” Taka asked her droid and it confirmed critical, but stable records. She grabbed the iodine swap to sterilize the incision area, then the droid reached her the scalpel. Taka took a deep breath before she began cutting through Din’s skin. She started in the middle of his sternum and cut her way down to his navel, working through the layers of tissues.

When the healer started to cut through the muscles to open the abdominal cavity, blood started to seep on her rubber gloves. “Blood pressure is dropping.” the doid stated as he checked the monitor, which was mapping out his vitals and quickly assisted her to locate the bleeding. After they managed to control it, Taka realized the mandalorians' insides were a mess, more and more the thought of just putting him to rest invaded her mind, but as a medic, she vowed not to harm any living creature and to save lives not take them. 

They started on fixing his lung, which was the major problem, they had to remove all the blood from his bronchi and airways, which already had been congested by bloody sputum and coagulated blood. After they finished that, they moved on fixing his lungs and restoring and adjusting the broken ribs. It was a painstakingly slow process and Din’s vitals were getting weaker and weaker. 

Cobb was still waiting outside. The night had fallen over Tatooine and Weequay paid him a visit, bringing food and water. “Anything new about his condition?” he asked, while Vanth was taking a bite. “No, nothing...It’s been 5 hours now” he said and continued to eat his meal. They ate in silence, no one felt like talking. Vanth was still worried about the whereabouts of the kid. If he would have just overlooked him by accident, he’d never forgive himself. 

After 4 more hours, Din’s surgery was finally coming to an end. Taka let out a deep sigh after she had sewed the last bit of skin together. “Okay, we’re done. Vitals are stable so far. I’ll now start the anesthesia diversion. Adding antibiotics and painkillers to the medication.” she mumbled and the droid protocolled. But suddenly, the alarm of the monitor beside her started blaring and Din’s line went flat. His balled hand finally opened and a silver ball dropped on the tiled ground. 

§

Gradually, the surroundings became more and more clear. But his eyesight was still blurred. Din was lying in a comfortable bed, at its end, there was a small group of people. Their silhouettes looked familiar, although he couldn’t determine them clearly. His limbs felt like lead, barely able to move. His heartbeat was slow and weak and the weight on his chest made it almost impossible for him to breathe. 

Suddenly, one of the silhouettes moved towards him and sat down on the edge of his bed. It was Cara, she placed her hand on his shoulder and gave him a warm smile. “Hey….” she said softly. “Cara…. I….” Din whispered, almost beyond comprehension. “Shhh, it’s alright. Din, you have to keep fighting. You have people who care about you in the real world, you need to carry on for them. You have to redeem your promise, Grogu’s waiting for you.” she said and she really meant it. “You are not alone in this fight. But you need to keep on fighting, this is not the end. You need to come back, Din. I’m gonna invite you for some spotchka” she leaned over him to give him a close hug, but then Cara’s voice was fading and soon, she had turned into the blurry silhouette again. 

Suddenly, another one appeared on his side, it was Karga. “You know, I once knew a man, who had just lived for his job. Day after day, he kept on just living for the next bounty without any purpose. And you now what? He has completely turned a corner and now, he’s a caring, sincere father and an even stronger warrior. He has a purpose now, he has goals in his life now. I know this guy for a pretty long time now and all I can tell him now is not to give up. Your journey isn’t over, my friend.” Greef said with a smile and disappeared as well. 

The next, who appeared was a certain female mandalorian, she took off her helmet and placed it on Din’s bed. “You know, when I met you you’ve reminded me of my dark past. And for a short period of time, I thought you were lost. But, you proved yourself otherwise. You’re an honorable man and a caring father. You really should consider being the next Mand’alore, you’ve got everything you need for that. Actually, I envy you for that.” Bo-Katan chuckled. “Anyway, if you feel ready to return, we will welcome you in our tribe. Cast off your old ways and look into a bright new future with your people and your child…” and with those words, she faded into white.

“Din? Sweetheart, can you hear me?” he heard a soft voice after he had closed his eyes for a moment. A voice, he hadn’t heard for a very long time and yet it sounded familiar. When he opened his eyes again, he saw his parents sitting beside him. His mother held his hand, giving a few soft strokes with her thumb. “Mom?” Djarin whispered weakly and watched his mother’s eyes filling with tears. “Yes, Din. We’re here. We’ve always been with you, son” his father behind her said and smiled. “We’re so proud of you, sweetheart. You’ve made it so far and we want you to be proud of yourself too.” his mother said, now also smiling at him. 

“You need to keep the promise to your son, he’s waiting for you. I know it, we’re all connected by the force. And although you might not feel it, it’s there, trust me, my boy.” Din’s father said and put his hand on his wife’s shoulder. “Mom, Dad… I miss you. I’ve never had the opportunity to say goodbye to you. Everything happened so fast and I…....” Din whispered, his hand around his mother’s hand tightening. “You don’t need to say goodbye, Din. We’re always here, watching over you. And now, we need to make sure, you’re gonna make the right decisions. You need to return back to life, your time has not come yet. Your son is waiting for you and he’ll always be……” she whispered as they slowly faded away. 

After they had disappeared, Din expected to feel even more horrible, but he didn’t. They gave him the comfort and contentment he needed and he felt himself getting a little stronger again, step by step. 

Suddenly, he heard another female voice calling him. “Din, you need to stay alive for your foundling. You have no idea how much he loves you. That was one of the reasons I could not train him” Ahsoka said and appeared on his side. “I couldn’t tell you back then, because I didn’t know if you were ready for that commitment. But now I see, it was the right decision. And no matter if he’s now with you or not, he’ll always belong to you. You really are like a father to him.” the Jedi said with a smile and vanished. 

Din took a deep breath, the fog in his mind, slowly started to clear. But suddenly, he heard another familiar voice. “Hey, what’s up, brown eyes?” Mayfeld chuckled casually. “You’ve been quite on a ride, haven’t you? I mean, you’ve ditched all of your beliefs and rules, just to die now? Come on Mando, that’s not you.” Migs mocked and paced back and forth in front of Din’s bed. He sighed. “Well anyway, all I want to say is that I really thought wrong of you, partner. You did the right thing and I kind of admire you for that. You’re a good man, so, you’ve got to stay alive, otherwise, I’m going to kill you.” Mayfeld chuckled and disappeared as well. 

The mandalorian sighed, his head sunk deeper into his pillow. But suddenly, Grogu appeared on his side. He didn’t say anything this time, he just came closer and kissed his father’s temple. But in his mind, Din clearly heard “Please, come back for me….” 

Suddenly, the mist around him cleared and other sounds invaded his ears. “Come on, Mando. Come back!” he heard a stranger’s voice, followed by an intense, repeating pressure on the center of his chest. He heard a loud, alarming sound blaring at him, it was from a monitor beside his bed. “Still no heartbeat, again” the voice called and the continuing pressure on his chest started again. Suddenly, he felt a spark of energy inside him, like a machine, that was slowly starting up again. 

The chest compressions stopped suddenly and instead of a long blaring alarm, he heard the soft beeps of his heart. “He’s back……”


	3. Chapter 3

Cobb still sat in his chair, waiting. Suddenly, he heard loud noises from the operating room. He got up, but he couldn’t see. A few minutes later, Taka opened the door, tearing off her blood-coated rubber gloves and wiping her brow. “He made it, but it was close. He crashed a few minutes ago, but we were able to bring him back. Now it’s up to him.” she explained and the Marshal nodded. “Can I see him?” he asked, but the Togruta shook her head. “He’s still sedated and he’ll stay like this for at least a few days. According to his blood test results, his immune system is weakened, so it’s best for him not to be exposed to anyone. But maybe, you can figure this out” she said and put the small silver ball into Vanth’s hand.

“What is this?” he asked and rolled it around with his fingers. “I don’t know, he was holding it in his hand and he dropped it on the floor when his heart stopped beating. I don’t know what he wanted to do with it, but if he had carried it all this time, it seems to be very important to him” Taka said and gave him a slight smile. “Alright, thanks for your service. I’m gonna have to do something, I’ll be back soon. Please take good care of him” the Marshal said and left the infirmary. The night has fallen over Tatooine again and a chilly breeze swept through the dusty streets. Cobb took a deep break and took a look at the silver knob again. 

He had no idea what this was supposed to be, but still, he had the kid in the back of his mind. “I have to go back and look for him.” he decided and went to get his speeder. Suddenly, someone’s called him. “Hey, boss. How is the Mandalorian?” Weequay asked and raised his brow, when Vanth mountened his bike. “He made it, but he’s in a really bad shape. He actually crashed at the end of the surgery and he’s not allowed to be visited for now.” he explained. “Oh, sad to hear. But where do you want to go now?” the bartender asked further and put his hand on the speeder. “I’ve still got the feeling, we missed something in the storage hall. Do you remember the kid he was traveling with? He was not with him and I want to figure out what had happened to him.” Cobb explained and started the engine. “Alright. Take care, there are weird strangers around in these dunes” Weequay said and stepped aside, so the marshal was able to make a turn. 

He had left Mos Pelgo in a heartbeat. Cold, dry air brushed through his grey hair, while the moonlight tenderly grazed the desert’s sand. It took only 15 minutes for him to arrive at the abandoned storage hall again. Being back here left a sour taste in his mouth. The presence of death was strong here, which was contributed by the foul odor of blood and rotten flesh. 

Reluctantly, Cobb entered the hall again and turned his flashlight on. His stomach turned by the thought to be captured here in the dark. It was silent, only his steps echoed from the high walls. Again he passed the alcove, where Din was kept. Vanth took a deep breath and decided to start his investigation right here. But apart from the blood splatter and something, what like an old, dry pile of vomit, there was nothing here, which was evidence that the kid was around here. 

But when he stepped around the tiled wall, he found some hooks, which were attached to the wall, where the bounty hunters seemed to have stored their torturing tools. An incredible stench came from a pile of plastic tarpaulin in the corner. Cautiously, he stepped closer and noticed some stains of dried blood from underneath it’s edges. Carefully, he pulled it up slightly, almost suspecting to find something horrible and it was. Nausea swept over him when he saw the rotting corpse of a Tusken underneath the plastic. 

Coughing he pushed his forearm on his mouth and nose, to cover from the disgusting smell. He turned away quickly, to get some fresh air, trying to get rid of the sickness in his stomach. “Well…. at least it’s not the kid.” he gagged. After he’d recovered from this shock, he noticed metal stairs, leading to another level, on the other side of the hall. Carefully, he put just one foot on it, to make sure it’s safe, because it was old and rusty. Slowly, he made his way upstairs, to find another old, rusty door. Dust fell from it, when he opened it. 

It kind of looked like an office, with a few tables and chairs. It had a wide window wall, where you could look all over the hall from above. He looked around, still there was no sign from the kid. Just a lot of empty bottles and a few syringes were spread across the tables. But suddenly an old bulky monitor caught his attention. There was a chair in front of it, where he took a seat. Cobb blew the dust from the screen and tried to turn it on. After a few attempts, he finally found the control buttons. It was a monitor from a surveillance camera and Cobb just figured out to watch the recordings. Retrospectively, he regretted his decision to watch it. At first there was only flickering on the screen, but soon it became more clear. 

At first he saw the record of a Tusken, which was being slaughtered by a Devaronian. As soon as the body touched the ground, a pool of blood started spreading on the tiled floor. There was a loud laughter from one of the other guys. Then Cobb was forced to watch them disassembling the dead body in the most disgusting ways. Again, he felt bile in the back of his throat, but he couldn’t stop watching. The screen flickered again and became clear after a few seconds. 

The next records he saw made the marshal gasp. He saw them dragging in the Mandalorian, two men on his sides. He looked limp, and when Vanth looked closer, he noticed that he’d already had a wound on his belly. “He already was hurt…..” he acknowledged and continued watching. But the following scenes were so brutal, Cobb would never get them out of his head anymore. The Marshal had seen people dying, but what they did to the mandalorian was more cruel. Every punch, they threw at his defenseless body, the Marshal felt himself. 

But then, he watched Din talking to something invisible during the night. Cobb came closer to the screen, trying to figure out who he was talking to. He saw him cradling something in his arms. “I love you, Grogu…” Vanth heard him saying. “I miss you so much……” Still, he had no clue, who ‘Grogu’ was or who he was talking to. But in a split of a frame, the Marshal saw something that made his stomach drop. He realized, Din was talking to the little, silver Ball, which he had clutched in his hands. He simply was hallucinating the little one. 

“This must be a keepsake from his child” Cobb gasped and pulled the knob out from his pocket. Cobb felt his eyes started to tear up, never before he had seen something so sad. “Oh force Mando, I never knew….” he whispered, looking at the round piece of metal, that meant the world to the mandalorian. “Something must have happened to the kid” the Marshal thought sadly. “Maybe, he came back here to forget, maybe he was not able to handle his loss?” More and more questions flared up in Vanths head and his grip around the silver ball tightened. 

“Okay, gotta get back to town” he mumbled and got up. As fast as he could, he sprinted back to his speeder bike.

“I’m gonna help you, Mando. You can count on me”

Quickly, he drove back to town, but not straight to the infirmary again. He stopped at his house and grabbed some tools. “I’m gonna make sure, you won’t lose it again” Cobb mumbled and started to work. 

An hour later, he was finished. Happy with his work, he put it back into his pocket, ready to visit Mando. He drove back to the doctor’s place, there was still light shining through the window. Cobb knocked on the door. “I need to see him” he said, before Taka was able to speak. She let him in. “Marshal…. Wait…” she mumbled and the man turned around, worried about the sad tone in her voice. “What happened?” he asked and held his breath. 

“The mandalorian…. he crashed again, soon after you’d left. He…. he fell into a coma. Cobb… it’s bad, it’s almost like, he just wants to die. His vitals are stable, but his condition worsens. I can’t do anything for him now. ” the medic said and the marshal pulled in a shaky breath. “But he’ll live, right? He needs to keep fighting!” Vanth stated, waiting for a reaction from the doctor. 

"Tell me, how are you going to tell someone to keep fighting if the one has already given up?“ she whispered.”I need to see him now, please” Cobb insisted and followed the medic, who went ahead. “If you need me, I’ll be in my office” she said and left them alone. There he was, lying on a hospital bed, attached to various machines, which kept him alive. He was so pale, almost transparent. His torso was bare, covered in black and blue bruises and on it’s middle there was a large strip of a bacta patch, reaching from the middle of his chest down to his belly button, which was covering the incision. The circles around his eyes were dark and made his dead look even more prominent. 

The only sound revolving him was the beeping of the heart monitor. Cobb had no clue what the numbers on it meant, but he knew, they were bad. Slowly, he approached the man on the bad, gently putting his hand over Din’s. He felt too cold to be alive. “I don’t know what has happened to your child, but I want to make sure. You’ll never forget him.” the Marshal whispered and pulled out the silver ball from his pocket. He had crafted a necklace for it, with a strong magnet, so he could wear it around his neck.

Carefully, he bent over the mandalorian to put it around his neck. Now, the little ball laid on Din’s chest, slowly moving up and down with his breathing. “You see, the kid’s with you again in a way. Now you need to keep on fighting for him. Promise me you keep on fighting, Mando.” Cobb said and put his hand on Din’s shoulder.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Puh, this chapter is an emotional roller coaster again and also the last chapter. Thanks everyone for the continued support.

“Papa? Papa, wake up…" Din heard a tiny voice calling him. He was tired, so tired. His body was a mess and he was barely able to move. But suddenly, he felt a little weight sitting on his stomach. A small hand started to stroke his cheek tenderly. It felt familiar."Grogu?“ the mandalorian asked weakly almost beyond comprehension. He felt his child’s presence, but he felt too weak to actually wake up. His mind was barely able to keep the connection up. But still, he tried his best, he couldn’t let his kid down, he knew he had to be strong for him. 

"I'm here, open your eyes" Grogu's voice sounded in his head. Weakly, Din's eyes fluttered open and a little green creature was looking at him with sad looking eyes. Din felt himself tearing up but he did his best to hide his tears and forced himself to smile. "Hey…. You came back. This is a dream right, I hope it’s not, but….?“ the mandalorian asked, although he knew the truth would hurt painfully.

"Kind of…. But it doesn't matter if I'm physically here or not I'll always be with you. And when I've finished training, I'm gonna come back and I’m gonna protect you… Like you've already protected me." the little one said, giving his father a confident glance. Din sighed and looked down, noticing the metal knob that was lying on his chest. He picked it up and realized that it was attached to a necklace."Who did this?" he wondered and rolled it between his fingers, but Grogu bent over and briefly touched it. 

"I wanted to give this to you, but I forgot. I'm sorry, I know it's your favorite toy…." the mandalorian mumbled remorsefully. A tear rolled down on his face. "And I want you to keep it, until I return. And I'm going to keep your necklace. It's a promise." the kid said and smiled. The mandalorian looked at the knob, studying it until suddenly, Grogu disappeared from his sight. 

"No, stay! Please!" Din cried and pressed the knob on his forehead. It was a silent night and Cobb Vanth was forced to witness the mental breakdown of one of the bravest men he'd ever met. The mandalorian had awoken from his coma after one and a half weeks. He was doing better, physically, but Taka diagnosed him with a severe case of PTSD. 

"It's causing him to have these hallucinations and the drugs these guys in the hall had administered to him made them even worse." the medic explained to Cobb after he had first witnessed that the mandalorian was talking to an invisible stranger. At first he thought he was dreaming, but the current one he had was at full consciousness. 

Din closed his eyes again and leaned back on the pillow. The silver knob was resting on his bare chest again. He was panting slightly. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Hey Partner, wake up…" Cobb said softly, trying to connect with Din after his coma and hallucinations. Djarin scrunched his eyes, turning his head to the voice, who called him. "Where… Am I?“ he whispered and opened his eyes slowly.

"Mos Pelgo, Mando. Do you remember what happened?“ the marshal told him and after a few seconds, Din finally recognized him."Vanth? What are you doing here? What happened?“ Din asked and his flaring panic subsided instantly. Cobb was his friend, he remembered that. The grey haired man sat down on a chair beside him and told him what happened from the day they had found him. 

Taka joined them shortly after Cobb was finished and gave Din an update on his medical condition. "It's most important for you to give yourself time. Both, your body and your soul, needs to heal. If you'd overdue it now, the backlash is going to be fatal. Rest, Mando. You can pull through this but you have to want this for yourself." the doctor told him and left the two men alone again. 

"I've seen a record at the storage hall, they've kept everything on tape. I'm sorry, you were already injured and these men just….. I can't describe the cruelty that they have done to you. But at least, you still have this…." Cobb said and picked the silver ball from Din's chest." I have no idea what it means to you, but I think it's something concerning the little green one? You've been talking to this ball and called it Grogu." Cobb added and watched Din's reaction. The mandalorian closed his eyes and sighed, deep in his heart he realized that Grogu has never been here since he had left him with the Jedi. 

He painfully had to acknowledge that it wasn't Grogu, who was with him when he was captured, it was the little ball, which he kept talking to. The kid had never been there. It was all a drug induced dream. He rolled the metal knob in his fingers, but it felt like it congested his throat. "You've been clinging to this thing like for dear life. Are you okay?“ Cobb asked as he realized Din's breathing picked up pace.  
"No……" 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Vanth asked, feeling a little overwhelmed in this situation. “I-I can’t… Grogu is gone…… I have to accept it. I just have to…..” Din mumbled, scrunching his eyes to hide his tears again. 

“What happened? Is he…. is he dead?” Cobb asked, hoping that he hadn’t crossed a line, but the mandalorian responded regardless. “No, he’s with his kind. A Jedi came to pick him up. I fulfilled my task, but it feels like I’ve lost my family….. again.” Din sobbed and Vanth put his hand back on his shoulder. “I know, it’s selfish, but….” he hesitated, but then, he told Cobb Vanth what happened until he passed out in the storage hall.

“You can’t change how you feel. But now, you must focus on yourself again. You can’t see your little boy again, when you are dead. You have to keep yourself alive.. for him.” the marshal said and Djarin nodded slightly. Vanth realized that the mandalorian might be able to process his trauma now, but he was sure he wouldn't if the hallucinations came back. And he was right, Din fell asleep soon after their conversation but the nightmares plagued him heavily. Cobb had to pin him down, so he won’t rip his stitches. When the mandalorian eventually woke up, he felt worse than before. 

“We need to get you distracted. Come, let’s go for a walk.” the marshal said, but Din gave him a bewildered look. The grey haired man fetched a wheelchair from the corner and pushed it to the bed. “You’ve got to be kidding, right?” Djarin asked, but suddenly, he felt Vanth putting his arm around his neck, helping him up. “No, I’m not kidding, you need to grab some air.” he said and helped the injured mandalorian to take a seat in the wheelchair. Then he grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around Din’s shoulders. 

Taka was not amused, but Vanth told her that he needed some distraction after the last nightmare, so she accepted. It was dusk on Tatooine and the setting suns dipped the desert into a rich, warm, orange light. Even Din had to admit that it was beautiful. It was still pretty warm and a dry wind brushed through the mandalorians dark hair. At first, they just watched the beauty of the sunset, but then Vanth took him and they walked through the streets of Mos Pelgo. Din felt himself losing up a little. It was nice to see that life still went on. 

Before they returned to the infirmary, Cobb left Din for a few minutes and returned with two glasses of spotchka. “Here…” he said and gave Mando one of them. “Are you serious?” the mandalorian asked as he took the glass from him. “Hey, I wanted to have a drink with you the first time, you’ve visited the city. Well, it ended fighting a Krayt Dragon, but now it’s time for it” the marshal chuckled and took a sip from his drink. Djarin hesitated for a moment, but then took a sip as well. This was his first drink he had in years, he barely remembered the last time he drank alcohol. 

It burned, when he swallowed it, but left a warm feeling in his chest. “You know, I’m not much of a believer, but I think, everything happens for a reason. You can call it force, god or whatever you like. And if you think, you have got nothing to live for now, think again. Maybe it’s destiny, but you have your boy a promise and I know you’ll redeem it when it’s time.” Vanth said, taking another sip. 

Din remained silent, he knew Cobb was right, but still it felt like an impossible task. “Time heals all wounds, my friend” the other man said and the mandalorians shoulder. “Probably…” Mando replied and took another sip as well. “But I don’t believe in destiny, I gave him my promise.” 

After they had emptied their glasses, they returned to the infirmary. Cobb helped Din to get on his bed again. “I have some business to take care of tomorrow, see you after work then.” the marshal said and left the mandalorian. Din’s mind felt so unsettled, but fortunately, sleep claimed him soon. This was the first time, he wasn’t tortured by nightmares, it was just a long, dreamless sleep. 

He actually slept until noon the next day. Taka and the droid were regularly checking on him, but it seemed he was getting better. Vanth returned after work, but Din was still asleep, so he waited beside him. But half an hour later, the mandalorian finally woke up. 

"Hey… Is it just me or why is it so warm here?“ Din mumbled with his eyes half closed. Cobb raised his brow. "It's not, actually…. Mando are you….?" the marshal asked, confused and moved closer to the mandalorian. He noticed he was panting, his fingers digging into the sheets of his bed. "Mando…. Are you okay?" Vanth asked and gently pushed the back of his hand against Din's forehead. "Dank Farrik…." Cobb cursed as he realized his friend was running a fever. 

"Mando, hold on I'm going to get you help." the marshal said and left the room. Din was struggling to stay conscious and only heard the door shut. He started shivering and hot pain ravaged through his body and the incision on his stomach felt hot and swollen. Beads of sweat started running down his face and neck as he tried to breathe through the pain. 

Cobb returned along with Taka finding Djarin now heavily panting through his slightly parted lips. The doctor took his temperature and her eyes widened. Quickly, she pulled the blanket up and removed the cover of Din's wound. A loud gasp escaped her throat. "It's infected, he needs antibiotics and an antipyretic."she said and fetched her Droid, which was equipped with all of those meds. 

It applied it to Din's IV port, while Taka fetched some cooling pads and put one on the mandalorians chest and the other stuffed under his back. She took both of his arms and pushed the wrists against the pads. "He needs to cool down, he's critical." she said and threw a worried glance at his vital monitor. Cobb bit his lip, he felt so helpless in this moment. Actually he had thought the mandalorian was recovering, he felt much better yesterday. But now the marshal kind of blamed himself for his friend's miserable state. 

Nervously he watched the healer observing Din's heart rate, which was getting lower at least. "Temperature is falling again, he's stabilizing" the Droid mapped out as it checked him again. Taka let out a relieved sigh. "Okay, he's out of the woods now. Looks like he's caught a bug when you took him for a stroll outside. I'm sorry but I have to restrict him on total bed rest now." the doc said and wiped her brow. 

"A2, add a higher dose of antibiotics to his medication and change the cool pads in two hours if the fever has not broken until then. He needs to fight off the infection as fast as possible to prevent his body from becoming even weaker as it is. It could lead into multiple organ failure and he'd change this bed for a coffin." Taka exclaimed honestly, leaving Cobb with his jaw dropped. 

He turned to Din, who slowly regained consciousness again."What….. What happened…?" he whispered weakly. Vanth swallowed a sob and sat down beside him, putting a comforting hand on the mandalorians shoulder. "Hey partner….." Vanth stammered, trying to put on a fake smile. But Din instantly noticed his discomfort and raised his brow. 

Cobb sighed and his voice started to tremble. "I'm so sorry, Mando. I almost killed you, it's my fault…." he stammered and explained to Djarin what had happened and what was the cause of his condition. But Din gave him a weak smile. "Don't blame yourself. I'm grateful that you showed me that there's still hope out there and that I have a purpose to live for. You did what a friend would do for me and I really appreciate you." the mandalorian whispered and Vanths face showed a slight smile. 

"And I was glad to help you, Mando. You're my friend…." Cobb said but Mando cut him off. "It's Din. My name is Din Djarin…." the mandalorian whispered and cleared his throat. "Nice to meet you, Din" Vanth said and gave Din's shoulder a gentle squeeze. Djarin looked down on his beaten body and almost cursed himself for not being able to finally get better, he just kept feeling like shit. He was getting tired, so damn tired and Vanth noticed that. 

"Hey, are you okay?“ the marshal asked and grabbed Din's hand, giving it a comforting squeeze."I-I don't want to die, Vanth…. I don't …… But I am….." Mando whispered and closed his eyes. A single tear dripped from his eyes. "No, no, no Mando… Din. You've got to fight this." Cobb replied quickly and panic tightened his chest. 

The med Droid returned to check and up Din's medication again. "If he gets worse, the meds won't be working anymore. He's already getting the highest dose possible. But if he makes it through the night, he'll live." the Droid said and took some notes. "I'm gonna stay with him…. To make sure he's okay." Vanth said, looking at the now sleeping mandalorian. 

And he did. He stayed the whole night, talking to Din, telling him stories of his life. Mando just listened most of the time, it kept him distracted enough to endure his body's ravaging sickness and fever. When the pain became unbearable, Cobb was there to squeeze his hand. The more hours passed the more Djarin was becoming aware of not only having an ally in Cobb Vanth but now a true friend. 

It was early in the morning and a small orange rim of light already embraced the horizon, when both eventually fell asleep. When Cobb jerked awake, it was almost noon. He felt his stomach dropping when he realized that he had fallen asleep. "You look like shit" he heard Din chuckling and Vanth felt relieved that he was still awake and alive. "Shut up…." the marshal replied with a smile on his face. "Looks like I made it…. Thank you." Djarin said, his voice sounded definitely stronger than yesterday. 

"You're welcome, partner. But I think you're gonna have to stay awake with me tonight. My back is killing me, I need Taka to give me some painkillers."Vanth groaned as he peeled himself from the chair he had slept on."Sounds fair to me. Bring some spotchka." the mandalorian called after him. When he was alone again it was the first time, Din did not feel alone. Finally he realized he made the first tiny steps into a little brighter future, alaway holding on to the promise he had given to Grogu. He had found a purpose again. This was the way …..


End file.
